I beg of you, take me back. I am no longer blinded.

Announcements and answers

A ball. An official engagement ball. How absolutely mad could his wife be? She was injured, and now she was in full swing planning a party for an engagement announcement. Striding into the castles ballroom, he scanned the place in search for his queen. When he finally found her, he strode over to her and leant down to speak to her as he gently, but firmly took her uninjured arm, careful to avoid her wrists.

"Henry! What are you doing?"

"A ball Catherine, seriously? In your state."

In that moment, if looks could kill, the queen of France would have been locked up for murdering her husband. A cold tone filtered into her voice as they made their way out of the room to avoid a scene. Something both of them unfortunately had a lot of practice with.

"My state, what has this got to do with 'my state'?"

"You are injured Catherine. Your wounds open up regularly because you aren't resting properly. How is planning a party going to help you?"

"I'm fine! I don't need your misplaced, moronic, guilt-easing, pitying, false sympathy act!"

"That is not what I'm doing and you know it!"

"I know it!? How would I know what you know? Nevermind, don't answer that, because you already know what I know!"

"I'm looking out for your health woman!"

"Don't."

"So you'll quite happily bleed to death by re-opening you wounds, and not being able to dress them yourself with one hand. Brilliant plan Catherine, absolutely brilliant!"

"My health is my concern. You have never cared before, so don't pretend as though you do now."

"I do care!"

At this the French queen began to laugh, shaking her head she snapped her last remark at her husband before leaving.

"Well don't."

It felt to the Scottish queen as though a million things were flying through her head, a million thoughts, feelings, and images all growing in one space, noise that needed to be silenced. She made her way to her future mother-in-laws rooms and knocked gently before walking in. She found the woman in question standing on her balcony as she had been before the attack on the castle. Walking towards her, she cleared her throat quietly to announce her presence, and watched as the blonde tilted her head, indicating for the Scot to join her. 

"What bothers you now Mary?"

"I'm not quite sure. I just wanted to be with you."

"Really?"

The ravenette nodded her head and leaned on the stoned railings of the balcony. 

"The pope didn't get to you in time."

"Mary..."

"Please."

A sigh sounded from the French queen's lips before she fell silent once again, knowing her future daughter-in-law needed this.

"Those men took so much from you when you were so young, and the pope didn't get to you in time to save you. Did we?"

"Sorry?"

"Did we... did we get to you in time?"

"Well I'm standing here aren't I?"

"We found you on the floor covered in blood, wound on your wrists, shoulder, and side."

The young womans voice rose in pitch before cracking as she became more and more distressed, until eventually it was a struggle for the elder on of the pair to hear the whispers that came from her.

"We left you. We left you behind even though I knew what had happened to you, and the others have probably all guessed. We left you sitting at that table with men who could have killed you while we went to safety."

"You did what I asked of you, nothing more, and nothing less. You knew nothing more than the appearance of slight decency the count had shown and you knew nothing of what he would do."

"What happened Catherine?"

"Mary..."

"Please."

Again it was the womans plea that stopped her, and the look in her eyes that compelled her to speak.

"Everything went as planned. We had dinner, you and your ladies left, the men suspected nothing, and then you didn't come back. The count sent men to look for you but naturally they couldn't find you. Vincent tried to get me to tell him where you girls had gone but I wouldn't tell him. He pressed a knife against my throat, threatening me."

The French queens hand involuntarily went up to her covered throat and traced where the knife had been.

"That was when the poison started to work."

"Poison?"

"A back up plan, I had kept hidden just in case things went awry. The gold had been brushed with one of the strongest substances in my possession. His soldiers started bleeding and dropping to the floor."

A vision of the nun from her convent came to Mary. She could imagine how the soldiers had died, and suppressed a shudder as she remembered how lethal her future mother-in-law could be, glad that she was now on the same side as Catherine.

"He slammed me against a table after I told him. Ripped my sleeves and started digging his blade into my skin, before doing the same with my side and shoulder."

And now elder queens fingers traced her wrist as she continued staring ahead, her face showing impassive and her voice staying vacant of any emotion.

"When he was bored of that he decided to... try out my reputation."

"Your...?"

The Italian blooded woman scoffed at the young womans naivety.

"Surely you've heard my dear. The Medici bitch, sold to France as an expensive whore. He climbed on top of me and reached his hand up my skirts, digging his fingers into my skin."

The Scottish queen shuddered as her eyes started filling with tears. Sensing her companions continued distress, the elder woman kept further details to herself.

"As he undid his belt, I was able to grab a knife. I stabbed him and tried to get away, he took hold of me and wrapped his hands around my throat trying to suffocate me until he eventually dropped down due to the blood loss. By then however, my own blood loss had caught up with me and I fell unconscious infront of the door. The next time I awoke, I was in Nostradamus' chambers with my son and you sleeping next to me."

"Catherine."

The ravenette's voice broke once again as she couldn't find any words to say. What could she say? A warmth enveloped her hand and she found her companion had taken it in her and was pulling her close. A strangled sob emitted from the young queen and she buried her head next to the other womans neck.

"He is gone, my son is safe from him and so are your ladies and you. Thank your lucky stars that Francis loves you so much, for it means you now belong to my family, and no one hurts my family. No one. I am here for you."

Taking a deep breath, the younger woman was able to regain control of her voice.

"I wish we could get those who hurt you when you were younger, I wish I could make what you had to go through better."

"So do I, my child, so do I."

AN

I finally updated! I hope this chapter is to your liking, I have looked over it, but I'm not so sure about the editing so apologies if there's a few mistakes.